Grenada's
Story

As Seen by Alister Hughes, A Prince of Modern Journalism

Alister Hughes,
Journalist

January 21, 1919 to February 28, 2005

Grenada's
Story

This web site was published and
promoted by Margaret
and Alister Hughes for the people
of Grenada, in the hope that the stories recounted here will
help to restore the heritage of Grenada to all.

This is a site for all Grenadians and
well wishers. We invite the active
support and assistance from all
Grenadians and wellwishers in order to preserve, defend and
promote the heritage of the country.

Funerals---The Stone Festival
and the Big Drum Dance

Recreation in Grenada

Public Beaches

Monthly Events

Statistics

History and Cultural
Resources

Key Links and Phone
Numbers

This website is a work in progress,
and we ask your help in making it more and more useful in
restoring heritage resources available to the people of
Grenada. Give us feedback on what you find here---AND on
what you WANT to find by sending Margaret Hughes an e-mail
(click
HERE).

CARIBBEAN
MAN

by Alister Hughes, Journalist and Poet, 1919 -
2005

"His poem Caribbean Man tells all
this. Written in 1990, it speaks of his passion for
country, place and homeland. His poem "Flotsam" says
"Once jewels in a monarch's crown, now flotsam in a
carib sea" etc etc. His life-long search for
Caribbean unity was never forsaken. His light spirit
and optimistic personality covered a relentless and
purposful Will." .. . . from a note announcing
Alister's death on 28 February 2005

We're now independent, yes, massa day
done,

We're free. It's a new day which now has
begun.

So please, let's get working as hard as
we can

To foster the growth of Caribbean
Man.

Let's take a look backward, remember with
pride

Those brave ones who stood up and battled
the tide,

Who braced up and faced it when all
others ran,

Who fought for the birth of Caribbean
Man.

Paul Bogle, as brave as you ever will
find,

And Gordon, like true steel in fire
refined,

They died in Jamaica pursuing a
plan

To fight for the rights of Caribbean
Man.

And Critchlow, for gains to the workers
he fought,

And when he was fired that counted for
naught,

Guyana his country, farsighted his
scan,

He called for the vote for Caribbean
Man.

More noble nude freeman than full gilded
slave

He lived by that precept, and Donovan
gave

Example that we too with dignity
can

Though trampled, be proud of Caribbean
Man.

In Donovan's tracks then came Ted
Marryshow

His dream was that we had just one way to
go

One country, Westindies, division he'd
ban

One nation, one people, Caribbean
Man

These are but few of the great ones of
yore

Who faced the rough storm in the time
gone before

When it was easy to drift with all in the
van

With never a thought of Caribbean
Man

When all were so willing to swim with the
tide

Be accepted, and join in the social
ride

Kowtow to the massa, and pray that he
can

Forget that you are a Caribbean
Man

Be called in to dinner or Government
tea

Get an honour, a knighthood or
CBE

Think Limies superior and much
better

Black, brown or whatever, Caribbean
Man

Not so these great ones, much more noble
their game

Unselfish, farsighted the stars were
their aim

Society's glitter was not in their
plan

They knew the true worth of Caribbean
Man

They knew that the Masters did'nt dare
educate

The objects they ruled in colonial
state

The learning they gave us was 'Dan in the
van'

The basics, no more for Caribbean
Man.

And history for us never touched on our
shores

But focussed on Europe, kings, treaties
and wars

What mattered, developed, continued,
began

In no way included Caribbean
Man.

They taught us of Raleigh and Hawkings
and Drake

Their exploits and how brave a fight they
did make

We saw this with pride, as true British
eyes can

But not with the eyes of Caribbean
Man

We knew naught of Fedon, Toussaint or
Quacko

Nor Christophe, Quamina or loose-mouthed
Cudjoe

We knew not of Cuffie away down in
Guyan

And what he had done for Caribbean Man

But now we are free, and it's slavery no
more

Our fate is our own. We've the key to
the door

That leads to our future, let's find if
we can

What stuff that he's made of, Caribbean
Man

When we were colonials in long days gone
by,

To make like massa was what we did
try,

To be like the British, our aim and our
plan

A synthetic Limey, Caribbean
Man.

That's over but, sadly, we've not yet
begun

To see our own place, recognize our own
sun,

In place of the Limey, we're now
African,

Not yet do we know we're Caribbean
Man.

How dare we forget and consign to the
breeze

Our brother the Indian, our sister
Chinese

And others who cover the whole ethic
span

For they too, my friend, are Caribbean
Man.

We're all of this region, no matter the
skin,

Black, white, pink or yellow, we'd better
begin

To know we're a nation and one common
plan

Is what must develop Caribbean
Man.

Let's turn eyes inwards and scales from
them shed,

See us as a people, and not that we're
wed

And fixed to some Mother, whom never
can

We grow and develop Caribbean
Man

Not England nor China nor India nor
Spain

Not Africa, Scotland nor France nor
Bahrain

Can now be our Mother, that can't be our
plan.

We're nobody's child, we're Caribbean
Man

We have our own customs, traditions, folk
lore,

Like Carnival, John Canoe, Big Drum and
more

Anansi and Tigue, Lajabless and steel
pan

A heritage rich of Caribbean
Man

And pepper-pot, oil-down, ackra and bush
tea

With foo-foo and jug-jug, bul-jhol and
bodi

And ginger beer, sorrel, all foods that
we can

Be proud are produced by Caribbean Man

Walcott, Louise Bennet, Rhone, Peters and
Hill,

McBernie, Keens-Douglas and many more
still,

In drama and poetry, dance, none better
than

These greats, they're the soul of
Caribbean Man

Our foods and our culture are not second
place

The're unique and reflect our multiple
race

We're a nation, a wonderful blended
clan

We're special, we're vibrant Caribbean
Man

And why, in this climate, continue to
try

To ape the ex-masters with jacket and
tie.

That garb is for cold clime, can't we
find a plan

Of suitable dress for Caribbean Man
?

That may seem a small thing but symbols
must be

The pointers which prove to our children
that we

Are not orphan people who catch as they
can

At standards to govern Caribbean
Man

We must know and teach, we're a people by
right,

We're not bastard offspring in desperate
plight,

Pretending we're British or African
clan

Ignoring the fact we're Caribbean Man

Let's shake off inertia, let's find a new
birth,

Let's lift our heads high, recognize our
own worth,

Our future awaits with unlimited
span

Awake and move forward, Caribbean Man.
!!!

And this is Alister's "Explanatory Note" --- the page numbers refer to Alister's original typescript
of the poem.

CARIBBEAN
MAN

Explanation
Sheet

Cover Logo and word "CARICOM" refer to
the Caribbean Community and Common Market, the grouping of
Britain's ex-West Indian colonies.

Page 1, verse 3 Paul Bogle a former
slave in Jamaica, led an armed protest uprising (riot) in
1865 against injustices to ex-slaves in that country. He
was tried and hanged. George William Gordon, also born a
slave, a mulatto, educated himself and became a wealthy
influential landowner. He was a member of the Jamaica House
of Assembly and used his position to try to get better
conditions for the ex-slaves. He took no part in the riot
but, because he was known to be a friend of Bogle, he was
tried, with no opportunity to defend himself, and was
hanged.

Page 1, verse 4 Hubert Critchlow formed
the British Guiana Labour Union in 1919, the first
registered trade union in the dependent British Empire.
This came in the midst of serious labour unrest in British
Guiana and, championing the workers cause, Critchlow was
dismissed from his job.

Page 1, verse 5 William Galway Donovan,
Grenadian, newspaper-editor, patriot, lived late in the last
century, and is well known for his principle that "A naked
freeman is better than a guilded slave". He had the
vision of a united Westindies. He went to jail rather
then withdraw his public criticism of what he considered to
be an unjust decision of a corrupt Judge.

Page 2 verse 1 Theophilous Albert
Marryshow (1887-1958) was a protégé of Donovan
and inherited the drive for a united Westindies. He is
known as the "Father" of the West Indies Federation which,
born in 1958, died in 1961.

Page 2, verse 4 C.B.E., (Commander Of
the British Empire), an honour conferred by the Queen of
England.

Page 3 verse 1 Natives of Britain's
colonies had no vote in Britain and were, therefore, more "objects" belonging to the Queen than her "subjects". A
calypsonian, ridiculing a totally unsuitable and inadequate
booklet specially produced for the education of children in
the colonies, used, in his song, a line from that booklet,
"Dan Is The Man In The Van".

Page 3 verse 4 Julien Fédon led an
unsuccessful revolution in Grenada in 1795. Toussaint
Louverture and Henri Christophe were leaders of the Haitian
revolution in 1791. Quamina was the leader of a slave
up-rising in British Guiana in 1823. Cuffie was the
leader of a slave up-rising in British Guiana in 1763.
Cudjoe was one of the leaders of a slave conspiracy in the
Virgin Islands in 1759. However, he violated security
and the slave owners were able to avert an
up-rising.

Page 4 verse 5 and page 5 verse 1 With
the breaking of colonial ties to the "Mother Country",
Britain, there has been an unfortunate tendency of some
Westindians to seek Africa as a "Mother Country".